The Hype Thread

[TheBlueEcho]

Really? Thats a shame...

[Arcalane]

Unless, of course, they somehow manage to code unique feature generation into their procedural algorithms.

Not so much generation as shifting map and terrain areas, I believe. Some of the interviews mention specific areas or places like bunkers that might not always be in the same place every time.

[Verminator]

I hear for Borderlands, they gave a whole bunch of guys the job of just sifting through all the weapons one by one and filtering out the shitty ones. As for the terrain, all the important parts like settlements and the major routes between them are all constant, it's just the rest of the terrain the gets randomised, as well as the things like random bunkers, raider camps and predator nests. I think the Halo-style gameplay's good because it flows smoothly and easily while still allowing a broad range of control - no fiddling to select grenades or pluck out a melee weapon in close quarters - you can do all that stuff no matter what you're holding, though some weapons do that sort of thing better than others. If there's any lack of depth, I think that's addressed by the RTS elements in the game.

Also, here's a gameplay video - the links in the sidebar should give you the rest. This is the only footage I've seen, and it's pretty dark, I'm afraid. I think they filmed a projector or something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFNwDRLZqqs

Did I mention it's violent? So even the most generic weapons should feel pretty satisfying when you blow an enemy's limbs off with them.

Okay, I'm done.

[Kaelis]

As for the terrain, all the important parts like settlements and the major routes between them are all constant, it's just the rest of the terrain the gets randomised, as well as the things like random bunkers, raider camps and predator nests.

When i said terrain features, i meant... terrain features. Not gameplay elements. Stuff like canyons, dunes, cliffs, caves, rock formations, waterfalls etc. Basically, landforms. Basic ones (like mountains, valleys, hills) will inevitably get formed by simple height generation algorithms, but the rest you need to either make by hand or code somehow. You won't see procedural generation generating something like this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... aSalle.jpg

Also, here's a gameplay video - the links in the sidebar should give you the rest. This is the only footage I've seen, and it's pretty dark, I'm afraid. I think they filmed a projector or something.

It does look like just Halo with different models...

[Aaganrmu]

Won't this turn out like almost every other RPG out there? It's just that the "soso circ 2cold // 20 frw // 42life // dr by 6 // 2 open sox " will be replaced with "Lightning gun with electric charges and revolver reload".

Back to hyping:

kohctpyktop: Engineer of the people puts you in the role of a Soviet engineer. Then, you design electronic circuits all day.

It's really hard, but a lot of fun. You might like to read up on NPN and PNP junctions a bit

[Slayer0019]

As for the terrain, all the important parts like settlements and the major routes between them are all constant, it's just the rest of the terrain the gets randomised, as well as the things like random bunkers, raider camps and predator nests.

When i said terrain features, i meant... terrain features. Not gameplay elements. Stuff like canyons, dunes, cliffs, caves, rock formations, waterfalls etc. Basically, landforms. Basic ones (like mountains, valleys, hills) will inevitably get formed by simple height generation algorithms, but the rest you need to either make by hand or code somehow. You won't see procedural generation generating something like this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... aSalle.jpg

Interesting you should mention that. Anyone who has played left for dead will tell you about the AI Director. For those who don't know, He (?) is the one who decides when hordes come, how big, and what's in them. He keeps things flowing at a good balance, so there will be times with almost no zombies and times when you literally never stop shooting.

Anyway, the interesting part is that in a Game Informer interview with a Valve staffmember, the Valve guy said that the AI Director could have been taken so much farther, to the point where the terrain is completely different every time you play the level. No more memorizing terrain, now your skill is really put to the test: you are effectively hot-dropped into an area you have never seen before, given a gun, a goal, and a swarm in the way. Sounds like fun.

[VNilla]

Yes, except that it would completely destroy any possibility of a storyline. For a story line to exist, you usually need a bunch of large, unique areas with very recognizable landmarks. If the terrain changed every time you played, you would have no clue where you were in the story arc and, therefore, no idea what you were supposed to be doing or what events have already occurred. Even in a game like Darwinia, which has a very monotonous graphical scheme, each level has specific landmarks: Containment has force field walls; Receiver has a constant rain of souls; Biosphere has year-round snow, unique trees, satellite dishes, and Red Darwinians; Mine has quarries and mine carts; Yard has a Colosseum-lie construction facility. You always know where you are and what you are supposed to be doing. Without landmarks, a game would descend into nothing more than to-the-death manic shooting.

(Which constitutes about half of Left 4 Dead's selling points, I might add. Go figure. I personally think that that is not the path video games should take. Remember the old NES days, where the entire backstory of every other game was, "THE TERRORISTS HAVE KIDNAPPED THE PRESIDENT. YOU MUST SAVE HIM"? As gaming evolved, so did the story lines. Let's not make the path of video games look like a parabola with a negative leading coefficient.)

[Kaelis]

Slayer0019, terrain != level design.

If the concept is still confusing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrain



Darwinia having a monotonous graphics? Strange, i thought its really neat, old school and refreshing. Didnt find it monotonous at all. A matter of taste, i guess.

[Arcalane]

Red Faction Guerrilla.

It makes my inner anarchist and explosives wannabe go squee on fangirlish levels that... let's just say it takes a lot to make me do that. Really.

Rough quote from a video;

"We could explain how Geomod 2.0 is a generational leap, and how we carefully designed each building to act like it's real-world equivalent, how we don't rely on model-changing behind smokescreens and how we don't use debris with no collision physics..."

"But that doesn't matter."

"Because you're going to tear it all down!"

GeoMod 2.0 Trailer. It's on track for a June 2009 release date.

[Slayer0019]

Yes, except that it would completely destroy any possibility of a storyline. For a story line to exist, you usually need a bunch of large, unique areas with very recognizable landmarks.

What a thing like randomly generated terrain could be good for would be a Quick Play game mode, for if you just want to jump in and start shooting, or if you like a unique challenge every time.

Slayer0019, terrain != level design.

True, but you don't always need great level design. One thing I hate is games online where the winner can be determined by the first guy who can run to the rocket launcher. With some refinement, say, a method in where the AI Director will take a bunch of premade parts and connect them in ways the flow, like hallway to doorway, and bunker on ground level out in the open, but procedurally so as to make sense. This way, you can spend more time on the fighting than running to where you know the big guns are. Gameplay would be fast and chaotic, and if you add in a territory control objective system with randomly placed territories, you get a bunch of guys with potentially a lot of skill but no idea where the hell they are in the map.

It needs refinement, but it could be very interesting.

[Sponge]

Red Faction Guerrilla.

I heard about this a while back. I only remember one thing about the original Red Faction, and that is that it was absolutely kickass. I remember #2 being fun to play, but it had a crappy story. I'm definitely looking forward to this one.

[Danny420Dale]

Red Faction Guerrilla.

It makes my inner anarchist and explosives wannabe go squee on fangirlish levels that... let's just say it takes a lot to make me do that. Really.

Rough quote from a video;

"We could explain how Geomod 2.0 is a generational leap, and how we carefully designed each building to act like it's real-world equivalent, how we don't rely on model-changing behind smokescreens and how we don't use debris with no collision physics..."

"But that doesn't matter."

"Because you're going to tear it all down!"

GeoMod 2.0 Trailer. It's on track for a June 2009 release date.

Awesome. I wish it was FPS instead of TPS.

BTW here's a better source. That site asked my age TWICE before I could see the video!

[Lizzie]

This new red faction game looks like Mercs in space.

[Homer]

Im rather excited About the upcoming 2500+ sytems for EVE online meaning that they'll be over 5000 systems to look around in . And i guess im rather excited my God damn evil math teacher is out of town for a month.

[Arcalane]

This new red faction game looks like Mercs in space.

With 100% more destructible buildings. Mercs uses the model-changing and smoke-screen behaviour they describe, so I think that's an obvious jab at it.

I have to say though, it's looking like the next three months just can't go fast enough now. It's set for a late-June release.